Creativity

I feel that I've written enough technical articles in the past couple months and now it's time to talk about something more important: creativity.

Photographers often discuss what makes a photo a "good photo", referring to composition, level horizons, etc.

To me, a factor that really makes a image stand out is when it has a sense of uniqueness.  A second factor is when every aspect of the photo comes together in a unified way, usually as a message or just a pure emotion.  Photos that can do both of these things tend to be special and very difficult to create.

Let's focus on the first aspect in terms of creativity.

This article shares a bit of my personal story of creativity.  It includes images I have taken over the years that I consider creative efforts, including some that I have never shared due to thinking they were "not good enough".  Thus, I'm not implying that creative efforts alone make these photos "good", but I am stating that they helped me tremendously in my personal growth.

2012 was my first year of "creative photography" via a 365 project.  I think it led to images that are not "technically superb", yet still have an enduring quality that outlast their technically superior peers I captured at that time.

The goal of this article is to inspire you to prioritize creativity and to give suggestions on how to nurture it.

Maybe this article is not limited to photography...

The Birth of Creativity

Creativity comes from the marriage of an idea that feels novel and the motivation to explore the idea.

Using bokeh to simulate a spectrum

Creativity never guarantees a remarkable result.  Perhaps the idea felt novel, but is actually common.  Perhaps motivation can not cover for the lack of skill, knowledge and luck needed for a good result.

But remarkable results are, by definition, not easy.  If they were, then everyone could easily achieve them and they would thus lose their quality of being remarkable.

Whether you are running a race, competing for a job or trying to excel at an art, the game is always the same: put in the work that unlocks your natural potential and try to overcome the inevitable series of setbacks and obstacles that come naturally with progression.

Thus creativity should not be thought of as a "shortcut" to success but as a building block toward a goal and ultimately a vision (more on that in a future article, perhaps).  Many attempts at creativity will feel like failures as they tread on unfamiliar ground. This feeling of failure can push a person toward past "safe successes" but these failures should be viewed as valuable opportunities for education and improvement.

During this shoot, I noted the "fiery effect" of the first image, then changed settings outside of my normal comfort zone to make it more pronounced.  I then tried different tones, eventually feeling that red treatment was a bit too blunt.

Success and failure are two sides of a double-edged sword.  One provides natural feelings of motivation but little in terms of learning potential.  The other does quite the opposite.  I believe you need a balance both to keep moving forward.  Success motivates, failure teaches.

This image is a "refined by experience" version of others that I have shared before.  I feel "safe" with the share and can predict the reaction but there is little opportunity in terms of personal growth.

Nurturing Creativity

Make it a Priority

To nurture creativity, you need to first give it priority.  A quick test:

• Look at your last 25 different photos (e.g. not duplicates of the same thing)
• How many gave you a feeling that you were pushing a personal boundary and were not sure how or if they would work out?
• If the number is less than 5, maybe more priority is needed...

by the way: my own test of this experiment (in March, 2016) shows that I need to give creativity more priority - I'm playing it too safe right now...

Force Discomfort

"Forcing Discomfort" means creating an environment where it's hard to take the photos that are in your comfort zone - spiritual duplicates of photos you have taken many times before.  Here are some examples:

• Do you depend on amazing lighting conditions?  Try going out in the middle of the day or during overcast conditions.
• Are you a master of subject isolation with depth of field?  Try using only your mobile phone.
• Do you post process every image in Photoshop or Lightroom?  Set your camera to JPEG mode and try some of the creative filters.
• Do you always crop?  Try to go a month without ever cropping a photo.
• Do you never crop?  Try to go a month cropping every photo to a 1:1 square or other ratio.
• ... and so on

I very rarely shoot with a long lens and this is one of only five images I captured in 2015 using one.  Perhaps the difference is what led me to "see" the potential of framing this the image with an intent to vertically "flip it", thus creating a near-subconscious source of tension and interest.

I don't recommend changing too much though.  I think that changing too much at once can give a "fish out of water" feeling that is not productive.  Instead, I recommend forcing only one or two differences and keeping the rest in your comfort zone.  This should encourage exploration and discovery along that new path.

This image of falling Jenga blocks was a challenge to capture in that it combines a blurring ambient exposure with a motion-freezing "flash".  From an external perspective "it's been done" but I had feeling of creative motivation during the process and this pushed my knowledge forward.

Also note that the goal here is not to find an easy path to amazing images, quite the opposite is likely.  Instead the goal is to gain knowledge and spark ideas.

Apply Vision

Vision in terms of a single image is the concept of "seeing" a photo in your mind months or years before you capture it.  You set the stage in your imagination, perhaps while listening to interesting music or in a special place of reflection.

What follows is a series of "attempts", each of which captures part of, but not all of the vision.  Some lucky visions might truly be found, and these images will be special.

My advice is to do what it take to personally get your creative thinking engaged (visiting a favorite quiet place, etc), and coming up with "idealistic" ideas that can then be chased and hopefully achieved.

My "first opportunity" of a photo vision I had for about a year before finding the image.

My "second" opportunity of the same vision, taken a year later.  It's still only about 70% there.  I hope to have another opportunity in the future that gets even closer...

Flash Cards

Here is an idea that I sometimes use.  Get some flash cards and write down idea fragments - one per card.  My personal cards look something like this (one per card)

• ND Filter
• Flower
• Long Exposure
• Fill Flash
• Macro
• Zoom blur
• Light Painting
• Tree
• Infrared
• Dancer
• ... and so on

I wouldn't worry about rules in making your cards - rules are the enemy of creativity after all.

Flower + Vignette + Zoom Blur

After you have enough, shuffle and draw three.  Think about various combinations of the three cards.  Any ideas?  Write them down to think more on later.  Try a few times and see how it goes!

More Thoughts?

If you have thoughts or tips on creativity you would like to share, I'd love to hear them below!

Why Film?

Why Film?

In this article, I write from the perspective of someone who still shoots mostly digital but enjoys mixing in film, purely for the joy of it.  I don't feel that film is for everyone but I do feel that film is just the ticket for many photographers (such as myself) who are looking to expand their "creative horizons".

Also, this article is not at all about switching to film but about adding a bit of film to the mix.  My current mix is about 80% digital, 20% film and it's a mix that varies over time.

Why We Photograph

Pentax MX with Fuji Acros 100 Film.  Taken Jan, 2015.

For many people, photography is not a passion in it's own right.  For these people, photos are primarily for preserving memories.  I'll briefly state now that I fully respect this attitude - these people are simply spending their finite time on other investments and that's everyone's personal choice to make.

For people that are not into the passion of photography, digital is a great solution.  It's fast, convenient, and easy to share. Technical quality is excellent.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are professionals. Now we are talking about trading images for money.  Some here may benefit from film's ability to target specific markets but many of the mainstream clients will not appreciate the differences enough to pay for film's extra overhead.

So who is left to appreciate film?  Basically two groups: the artist and the hobbyist.

What might they appreciate?  The unique properties and opportunities that only film can provide. Let's explore each one:

Distilled to the Essence

Pentax MX with Kodak Ektar 100.  Taken Dec 2014.

Digital provides so many tools during image making.  Live histograms, instant preview, assistance in exposure, white balance, and even automating exposure choices.

Can we take good photos without all of this help?

A high quality mechanical camera removes all of these technical aids and replaces them with a great feeling of connection with the environment.  You plan your shot, take it, and deal with the fact that you can't confirm it's optimal.  The lack of feedback means you're more likely to slow down a bit, think more, take more care - those are good things.

...and when you finally see the images they are almost always fine, great even, and it's a good feeling.

Shoot With Pro Gear

Horseman VH View Camera with Kodak Porta 160.  Taken Oct, 2015.

It turns out that you can now buy film equipment that used to cost thousands for hundreds, or less.  Equipment that was mostly exclusive to professionals could justify when it was new.

So what, right?  Today's cameras can produce images that are so much better...

It's true that 35 mm film cameras are slightly beat by digital in technical image quality (although they still have image qualities that make them really nice).  But, like most image quality face-offs these days, it requires large print sizes (or pixel-peeping in photo editors) to spot the differences.  Then again, if large prints are your thing, you can (cheaply) go with a medium or large format film camera, of which digital currently has no answer (due to the extreme expense of creating a sensor of that size).

There is also shooting experience itself.  This is hard to explain to someone who has not taken a 70s or 80s camera designed for professionals out for a few days shooting.  They have not experienced the large viewfinders, mechanical accuracy and thoughtful designs which translate into highly enjoyable shooting experiences.

Finally, many film cameras designs provide experiences that are nothing like digital.  TLR's, View Cameras, Medium Format Rangefinders, and more.  Each one provides a different shooting experience and it's quite a bit of fun to try them all.

Deepen your Knowledge

Canon QL17 GIII with Portra 160.  Taken March, 2015.

Do you know what it's like to shoot "wide open" with 6x7 medium format film?  What about manipulating distortion and the focus plane with tilts and shifts on a view camera?

You can experiment with these things quite affordably with film and deepen your knowledge of photography in the process.

In contrast, if you want to try tilts and shifts in digital, you are limited to a handful of expensive specialty lenses that are quite limited in capability compared to what an affordable view camera can do.

For a simple example, a view camera can let you do an extreme tilt macro shot with a regular lens, perhaps getting the surface of a coin, leaf or other object aligned with the place of focus, and you can do it with your everyday lens  This is both useful (as macro DOF is always at a premium) and something that will give a "unique" look, possibly creating a image that "stands out from the crowd".  If nothing else, it's more opportunity to learn and experiment.

Spark Creative Energies

Yashica 124G with Ektar 100.  Taken Aug 2015.

It's easy to fall into the habit of taking the same type of photos and "seeing" the same opportunities at the same locations.  If you are doing this and are happy, then carry on.  Eventually, boredom might start to creep in, however.

I believe that one path to finding new creative inspiration is to change something that forces you out of your comfort zone.  A new lens can sometimes accomplish this.  Using (or not using) a tripod is another avenue.  Bringing only a film camera is yet another.

I think the more I shoot with film over the years, the better my digital work becomes (at least to me!).  One reason is because getting a nice image with black and white film really requires me to be patient and find the right mix of light and shadow, yet this same light and shadow mix is what helps improve any image.

It's Packed with Fun!

Pentax LX with Fuji Acros 100.  Taken Sep, 2015.

Ok, I can't say that will be true for you but I personally think that the whole process is fun.  Here are just a few things that I enjoy:

• Looking at images on film and knowing that they do not just contain memories, but they were actually present on-scene for that moment.  They are a physical artifact from the memories they contain.
• Running a fully mechanical camera with no batteries
• Depending on films amazing ability to retain highlight detail and rarely being disappointed
• Developing the film myself and seeing the images appear for the first time
• Seeing images of my family and friends recorded in a pure-analog physical format and not just as a series of "zeros and ones".

How to Start

This is a personal thing so I can only offer so much guidance.

I will say that if you've never experienced an excellent mechanical 35mm, you should consider trying one, maybe from a friend to start :)   For brand, I recommend considering a brand that leverages your existing lens collection.  Then do a search for "best 35mm Canon" or "best 35mm Olympus", you get the idea.

If that sets off any sparks of happiness, try a bigger format at some point.  Many go with medium format.  Others go with large format.  Quite a few try everything :)

One thing to consider is that some bigger format cameras work like a large 35mm SLR while others offer additional options - like removable backs, tilts, shifts, and even a versatile bellows.  The later will definitely teach you more if it happens to be new ground.

In any case, I recommend one step at a time - start with one camera and lens.  Develop your results at a store for convenience, then take it from there.  Go at whatever pace you enjoy and try new things (like self developing) if and when you feel you are ready.  Also note that I have many more film articles on developing, scanning, etc.  Feel free to take a look!